Vikings-Texans Preview

The road to achieve both gets tougher for Peterson and the visiting Vikings when they try for a third straight victory Sunday against the Houston Texans, who need one win to clinch home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs.

Less than a year after suffering a torn ACL and MCL, Peterson continues to amaze while leading the NFL with a career-best 1,812 rushing yards on 289 carries. He's the only player averaging more than 100 yards per game (129.4) and is third in the league at 6.3 per carry -- more than teammate Christian Ponder is averaging per pass attempt (5.95).

Peterson, who ran for a season-high 212 yards on 24 carries in a 36-22 win at St. Louis last Sunday, has averaged 164.1 yards during a stretch of eight consecutive games with at least 100.

"Nobody probably has ever done it better than he's doing it in this stretch," Houston coach Gary Kubiak said.

That remarkable run has left Peterson needing 294 yards in two games to break Eric Dickerson's single-season record of 2,105, set in 1984 with the Los Angeles Rams.

"It's something that I'm not focusing on, it's in the back of my mind, but I want to accomplish that," said Peterson, whose previous career high was 1,760 yards in 2008. "I want to let the chips fall where they may."

As much as Peterson would like the record, his first priority is helping Minnesota (8-6) reach the playoffs for the first time since the 2009 season. The Vikings currently hold the final wild-card spot in the NFC, although various tiebreaking scenarios make their grip on that position tenuous.

"The record would be great," coach Leslie Frazier said. "But the most important thing is to get a win in Houston. And the fact that he feels that way, that will permeate through the rest of our team. He wants to really concentrate on winning this game, more so than the record."

Looking to match a season high with their third consecutive victory, the Vikings face a stiff test this weekend. In addition to owning the AFC's best record, Houston (12-2) has the fifth-ranked run defense in the NFL, allowing 93.2 yards per game and a league-low three rushing touchdowns.

The Texans clinched their second straight AFC South title with last Sunday's 29-17 win over Indianapolis, and they can secure the conference's top seed with one more win or one more loss by both New England and Denver.

"It'd be huge for this team because playing at home in this league and having the benefit of your crowd and getting off on cadence and all those types of things, it's a big, big factor in success in this league," Kubiak said. "We worked hard to get to the playoffs. We worked hard to win a division and now we got to continue that same effort to try to find a way to possibly be a one seed in this playoff hunt."

Arian Foster increased his total to 1,313 rushing yards by posting a season-high 165 against the Colts while Andre Johnson caught 11 passes for 151 yards and a TD. Johnson, who has 93 receptions for an AFC-leading 1,360 yards, caught 12 balls for 170 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-28 overtime loss in 2004 the only previous time Houston hosted Minnesota.

Though the Texans rank among the NFL leaders in averaging 28.1 points and 386.8 total yards, Kubiak is a bit concerned after his offense scored a touchdown in the first quarter last weekend then settled for four field goals the rest of the way.

"It was disappointing because we could have really put some points on the board," Kubiak said. "You only get so many opportunities in this business and boy, you have to take advantage of them."

Peterson is getting his first opportunity to play an NFL game in Houston, 150 miles from his hometown of Palestine, Texas. He ran for 139 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries in Minnesota's 28-21 home victory over the Texans on Nov. 2, 2008.

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Scouting Report

Vikings-Texans: What to watch

After watching film of both teams, Scouts Inc. breaks down key elements of the Week 16 Vikings-Texans matchup.

• Ride your horse but add wrinkles: Minnesota can pound the ball effectively against just about any defense, but it would be wise to add a some wrinkles to the running game -- counters off its base downhill power play, quick screens of play-action, etc. -- down the stretch. Look for offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave to ride running back Adrian Peterson as usual, but the Texans have a formidable defensive front seven that yields only 93 yards per game and the Vikings will need to throw a few curveballs at Houston.

Head to Head Matchups (Since 2001)

Minnesota leads 3-0

Nov 2, 2008

MIN 28, HOU 21

Oct 10, 2004

MIN 34, @HOU 28

Research Notes

The Vikings head to Houston in Week 16 trying to accomplish something they have not been able to do all season. The Vikings are 0-5 this season in road games against teams that currently have a winning record. They have been outscored by an average of 10.4 points per game. Adrian Peterson has averaged nearly 130 yards rushing in those games but Christian Ponder has a very underwhelming Total QBR of 18.7 in those games.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS - AGAINST WINNING TEAMS ON ROAD THIS SEASON

W-L

0-5

Pts diff

-52

Peterson Rush YPG

127.8

Ponder Total QBR

18.7

WEEK 16: VIKINGS at TEXANS, SUN. 1 ET

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Adrian Peterson has 909 rush yards after contact this season, 337 yards more than the next highest rusher (Doug Martin). Not only does Peterson have the most yards, he also has the most yards per rush after contact (3.2). Since the start of 2009, no rusher has finished a season with more yards or yards per rush after contact.

Must Rush Yards After First Contact In Single Season - Since 2009

In the Vikings last six games, Christian Ponder has completed one pass in 23 attempts 15 yards or more downfield. During that time, 40 other players have completed multiple passes of those distances. Ponder's last completion 15 yards or more came in Week 10 against the Lions.

Adrian Peterson needs 294 rushing yards in his last 2 games to break the single-season rushing record. Eleven times in his career has put together at least 294 yards in back-to-back games. In fact, he has done it 5 times this season.
NOTE: In those 11 back-to-back instances, 17 different games have been involved, meaning 5 games have helped him accomplish the feat twice.